The worrying increase in dengue in Latin America 3:56

(CNN in Spanish) --

The Minister of Health of Peru, César Vásquez, said this Monday that 20 of the 24 regions of the country will be declared a health emergency due to the increase in dengue cases.

According to statements by the minister, there are already 24,981 cases.

"We are going to present a report on the status of dengue in the country and work is being done so that in the next few hours most of the regions of Peru will be declared an emergency due to this epidemic," Vásquez said in an interview with RPP.

“20 regions are going to be considered in a health emergency situation due to dengue and the details of the decree are being finalized so that it can be approved,” he added.

• What is happening with dengue in America and how to protect yourself?

CNN contacted the Peruvian Ministry of Health to obtain more information, including the current official number of deaths, but reported that the emergency declaration is being supported before the Council of Ministers and that after support, the Minister of Health will give statements about the agreements reached.

In his statements, Vásquez commented that the reported cases represent a 95% increase compared to the same period in 2023. “2024 is going to be an absolutely complicated year,” the minister admitted.

“We are on the verge of a 100% increase,” he commented.

In 2023, the minister said, there were 12,624 cases and 18 deaths on this date.

Vásquez added that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the high temperatures caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon cause the larvae of the mosquito responsible for the disease, Aedes aegypti, to proliferate “faster.”

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The latest epidemiological alert from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), issued on February 16, reports an “exponential increase” in dengue in Latin America.

With information from Jimena de la Quintana.

Dengue